What NFL teams have the most liberal and most conservative fanbases?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Most liberal: Almost certainly the San Francisco 49ers
Most conservative: I'd say the Jacksonville Jaguars

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I wouldn't discount the Ravens or Vikings as the most liberal. SF might be very liberal but I feel like those extreme left wingers there are unlikely to be football fans while they have a good deal of fans throughout the country. Plus they're moving to Santa Clara I think so it's not actually their hometown anymore.

Jaguars almost certainly for right wing, but most conservatives probably prefer college football.

[traininthedistance]

I wouldn't discount the Ravens or Vikings as the most liberal. SF might be very liberal but I feel like those extreme left wingers there are unlikely to be football fans while they have a good deal of fans throughout the country. Plus they're moving to Santa Clara I think so it's not actually their hometown anymore.

Jaguars almost certainly for right wing, but most conservatives probably prefer college football.

I might nominate the Seahawks for most liberal, actually: while their geographic footprint does take in some conservative areas (Eastern WA, Idaho, Alaska), it's a pretty small percentage compared even to the 49ers (who own much of inland CA). 

Jacksonville is indeed the obvious choice for most conservative.  Small fan base (so outlier effects) + very conservative area = slam dunk.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I wouldn't discount the Ravens or Vikings as the most liberal. SF might be very liberal but I feel like those extreme left wingers there are unlikely to be football fans while they have a good deal of fans throughout the country. Plus they're moving to Santa Clara I think so it's not actually their hometown anymore.

Trust me, the Vikings don't have the most liberal. They have more of a fanbase in what was Michele Bachmann's district than either Twin Cities one (which are full of immigrants and Wisconsin and Chicago transplants) are also the de facto team of the Dakotas.

New England Patriots might be a possibility for most liberal.

[traininthedistance]

New England Patriots might be a possibility for most liberal.

No way, too many nationwide bandwagoners.

[seb_pard]

Most Liberal: The Seahawks

Most Conservative: Mmmm the Saints or the Cowboys (Dallas is not so conservative but if you add Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Arkansas and some rural counties you have a very conservative fan base).

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

New England Patriots might be a possibility for most liberal.

No way, too many nationwide bandwagoners.

Eh true. How about the Raiders though? Unlike the 49ers their fanbase is probably limited to just the East Bay.

In regards to the Packers fanbase in the Twin Cities too, an interesting phenomena I only recently discovered is that there are indeed "Packers bars" in Minneapolis, aka sports bars that actually cater to Packers fans. I remember walking down a street in Uptown one afternoon and was surprised to see a bunch of people sitting outside in green and gold jerseys, but yes, this bar right in the heart of Minneapolis is frequented mostly by Wisconsin transplants. Curious if any such "Vikings bars" exist in Madison, since even the western Wisconsin Twin Cities exurbs are Packers territory.

Also interesting is areas where the fanbase of different sports has a different overlap. For example as mentioned above the Packers are a de facto Wisconsin team and are the dominant team everywhere, the only area in Wisconsin that isn't a Packers stronghold are the areas south of Milwaukee which are about evenly split between Packers and Bears. But the western Wisconsin area are fans of the Twins instead of the Brewers, and the south of Milwaukee areas are definitely for the Brewers over the Cubs or White Sox. Kind of skewed by divisions no doubt and that the Brewers are actually a Milwaukee team, but still interesting.

[traininthedistance]

New England Patriots might be a possibility for most liberal.

No way, too many nationwide bandwagoners.

Eh true. How about the Raiders though? Unlike the 49ers their fanbase is probably limited to just the East Bay.

In regards to the Packers fanbase in the Twin Cities too, an interesting phenomena I only recently discovered is that there are indeed "Packers bars" in Minneapolis, aka sports bars that actually cater to Packers fans. I remember walking down a street in Uptown one afternoon and was surprised to see a bunch of people sitting outside in green and gold jerseys, but yes, this bar right in the heart of Minneapolis is frequented mostly by Wisconsin transplants. Curious if any such "Vikings bars" exist in Madison, since even the western Wisconsin Twin Cities exurbs are Packers territory.

Also interesting is areas where the fanbase of different sports has a different overlap. For example as mentioned above the Packers are a de facto Wisconsin team and are the dominant team everywhere, the only area in Wisconsin that isn't a Packers stronghold are the areas south of Milwaukee which are about evenly split between Packers and Bears. But the western Wisconsin area are fans of the Twins instead of the Brewers, and the south of Milwaukee areas are definitely for the Brewers over the Cubs or White Sox. Kind of skewed by divisions no doubt and that the Brewers are actually a Milwaukee team, but still interesting.

I don't know enough about the intricacies of 49er vs. Raider fandom as perhaps I could.  One complicating factor is that there are going to be some residual Raider fans in LA still, also.  I think, without a whole lot of evidence to back it up, that perhaps a higher percentage of Raider fans are minorities but that their white fans are more conservative, so maybe it cuts both ways?

Yeah; on the margins of many areas you'll see things like that, where the more popular team overall encroaches.  The Yankees-Phillies line is further south than the Giants-Eagles line for instance.

And of course the Packers have one of the largest nationwide followings; there are going to be Packers bars in every major city (same for Steelers, Cowboys, etc.)

Funny story, I watched the 2011-2012 NFC Championship Game between the Giants and 49ers in a 49ers bar* in Brooklyn, which was a surreal experience.  Enemy territory despite being the hometown team!  The schadenfreude was fantastic when we won.

*really, a pan-West Coast bar; I'm a loyal customer of theirs because they have the best pub quiz.

[Del Tachi]

I'd think the most conservative fan base would probably belong to either the Saints or the Falcons.  While New Orleans and Atlanta aren't conservative places by any means, these two teams enjoy large fanbases that extend throughout the Deep South that are probably comprised almost exclusively of conservatives. 

[traininthedistance]

I'd think the most conservative fan base would probably belong to either the Saints or the Falcons.  While New Orleans and Atlanta aren't conservative places by any means, these two teams enjoy large fanbases that extend throughout the Deep South that are probably comprised almost exclusively of conservatives. 

The Falcons have a lot of black fans, so not them.

[DemPGH]

Most liberal I would probably say 49ers or Seahawks.

Most conservative could be a lot of them, because NFL fans are not usually a liberal demographic. I agree that the NASCAR Division (NFC South) could have it: Maybe the Buccaneers. But let me also suggest the Colts. Lots of fans in rural farmland. 

[Del Tachi]

I'd think the most conservative fan base would probably belong to either the Saints or the Falcons.  While New Orleans and Atlanta aren't conservative places by any means, these two teams enjoy large fanbases that extend throughout the Deep South that are probably comprised almost exclusively of conservatives. 

The Falcons have a lot of black fans, so not them.

But no where near a quarter of the Falcons total fanbase is Black, most of it isn't even in the state of Georgia.  I guess it really depends on how one defines "fanbase" but if you go poking your head around rural Mississippi and Alabama asking rednecks which NFL team they pull for its going to be one of those two teams, maybe the occasional Titans fans.     

As for the overall "composition" of the NFL, I'd say that the fanbase of any professional team are going to be more liberal than the fanbas of a collegiate team due to professional sports being based in urban areas rather than small towns.   

[Хahar 🤔]

Los Angeles is the only area where Raiders fans make up a plurality of NFL fans. As one might expect, the 49ers/Raiders split is well correlated with class lines, although that doesn't have any particular correlation with voting patterns. The Raiders fanbase is also notably Hispanic relative to those of other teams.

Plus they're moving to Santa Clara I think so it's not actually their hometown anymore.

Obama won 69.97% of the vote in Santa Clara County in 2012.

[patrick1]

New England Patriots might be a possibility for most liberal.

No way, too many nationwide bandwagoners.

Pats and the rest of the Boston teams fanbases are not progressive bastions by any stretch anyway...same for New York teams.  Most liberal I'd look west, most conservative Id go with Cowboys.

[Хahar 🤔]

The answer certainly isn't Cowboys. In the DC area, for instance, the Cowboys have had a large base of support among the region's black population for decades, dating back to the Redskins' resistance of integration in the 1960s.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Also Cowboys territory includes Austin and the Hispanic areas near the border.

[DC Al Fine]

Here's the facebook map

[DC Al Fine]

Based on the map, I'd say Philly is a decent candidate for most liberal fanbase.

[patrick1]

Also Cowboys territory includes Austin and the Hispanic areas near the border.

When you stretch things out like this you are going to have areas an some groups that dont fit.. how many of the trendy folk in Austin even watch football, how many Hispanics are more interested in Chivas.

Regardless of some fans who are not liberal, Cowboys have large swaths of conservative territory and that America's team stamp of traditionalism. Friday night High school ball, church and Cowboys football.  

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Yep, looking at that map, you'd have to argue Eagles or Bears, I'd think. You can't forget that even though all those rural Illinois counties have some conservatives, there are just as many suburban white liberals in northwest Indiana and Eastern Iowa (usually more north, but surely a bit in the south).

The problem with the Eagles is that south Jersey is very conservative. Surely the populations of Philly/Camden outweigh a lot of that, but don't underestimate how much the shore folks love their Eagles.

Bengals and Bills probably have a good deal of right wingers for northern teams.

[The Free North]

Eagles fans, for anyone who has been around them, are not liberal by any means....most probably are in the category of 'why is a black man president'


Geographically, it might be one of the more liberal regions.


Really tough to say because the black population skews what would otherwise be very conservative regions (atlanta, New Orleans)

[traininthedistance]

New England Patriots might be a possibility for most liberal.

No way, too many nationwide bandwagoners.

Pats and the rest of the Boston teams fanbases are not progressive bastions by any stretch anyway...same for New York teams.  Most liberal I'd look west, most conservative Id go with Cowboys.

I think it's a fair bet that the vast majority of non-NBA sports teams have fanbases which skew conservative in comparison to their geographic footprint.  The Patriots are, probably, one of the most extreme examples of this, not just because of their nationwide following but, as you mention, the gap between "NFL fan" and "average citizen" seems to be unusually large in New England.  There definitely also seems to be a pretty wide gap wrt the Jets, whose support seems to stereotypically be concentrated among Long Island whites.

I suspect that Giants fans, while still more conservative than the median New Yorker, have the narrowest gap among those three teams at least.  Also keep in mind that the largest hotbed of non-Northeast Giants support is among the more liberal parts of Florida, for obvious reasons.

[traininthedistance]

Yep, looking at that map, you'd have to argue Eagles or Bears, I'd think. You can't forget that even though all those rural Illinois counties have some conservatives, there are just as many suburban white liberals in northwest Indiana and Eastern Iowa (usually more north, but surely a bit in the south).

The problem with the Eagles is that south Jersey is very conservative. Surely the populations of Philly/Camden outweigh a lot of that, but don't underestimate how much the shore folks love their Eagles.

Bengals and Bills probably have a good deal of right wingers for northern teams.

Most of South Jersey actually voted for Obama even in 2012– even Salem County.  I mean, that territory is kinda conservadem in some ways, but one can get far more right-wing than "conservadem".  Cape May is pretty small, and Ocean/Monmouth are actually in the NYC metro. TBF I guess Ocean is one of those places where the relative popularity of the Eagles means they cross over and take some border territory– but looks like it's actually plurality-Giants.

The West Coast teams (49ers/Raiders/Seahawks) probably win this, but the Eagles might in fact be the most liberal Eastern team.

[patrick1]

New England Patriots might be a possibility for most liberal.

No way, too many nationwide bandwagoners.

Pats and the rest of the Boston teams fanbases are not progressive bastions by any stretch anyway...same for New York teams.  Most liberal I'd look west, most conservative Id go with Cowboys.

I think it's a fair bet that the vast majority of non-NBA sports teams have fanbases which skew conservative in comparison to their geographic footprint.  The Patriots are, probably, one of the most extreme examples of this, not just because of their nationwide following but, as you mention, the gap between "NFL fan" and "average citizen" seems to be unusually large in New England.  There definitely also seems to be a pretty wide gap wrt the Jets, whose support seems to stereotypically be concentrated among Long Island whites.

I suspect that Giants fans, while still more conservative than the median New Yorker, have the narrowest gap among those three teams at least.

I think New York City itself has actually turned into a bad sports town in general. Immigrants, many artist types and the sheer number of transplants from other parts of America make a whole lot of people who simply do not care.  Been to Pittsburgh and Indy and several other cities on game day and they just care more. The suburbs are where you find the core support for all NY teams.  
I would actually view the Giants as the more staid and conservative of the fanbases on a personal level.  Jets have more rowdy, partying and loud mouth crowd- probably more extremes either way in terms of politics.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Eagles fans, for anyone who has been around them, are not liberal by any means....most probably are in the category of 'why is a black man president'

Do you only know white people? I hate Eagles fans (almost as much as I hate Cowboys fans/more than I hate Giants fans), but this is not accurate. Their fanbase is disproportionately black compared with other teams. The "Why is a black man President" is not a good picture at all. Additionally, their white fans are the types of morons you see on Jersey Shore constantly at the gym/partying rather the types of hicks who might throw around phrases like you said. That would be very uncommon to find in SE PA. Those people are more likely to be Steeler fans, but a good deal of them probably voted for Obama too because Unions (it's a good split between the 2 parties).

On page 13, you can find the race crosstabs between the two pro teams.

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_PA_316.pdf

Yep, looking at that map, you'd have to argue Eagles or Bears, I'd think. You can't forget that even though all those rural Illinois counties have some conservatives, there are just as many suburban white liberals in northwest Indiana and Eastern Iowa (usually more north, but surely a bit in the south).

The problem with the Eagles is that south Jersey is very conservative. Surely the populations of Philly/Camden outweigh a lot of that, but don't underestimate how much the shore folks love their Eagles.

Bengals and Bills probably have a good deal of right wingers for northern teams.

Most of South Jersey actually voted for Obama even in 2012– even Salem County.  I mean, that territory is kinda conservadem in some ways, but one can get far more right-wing than "conservadem".  Cape May is pretty small, and Ocean/Monmouth are actually in the NYC metro. TBF I guess Ocean is one of those places where the relative popularity of the Eagles means they cross over and take some border territory– but looks like it's actually plurality-Giants.

The West Coast teams (49ers/Raiders/Seahawks) probably win this, but the Eagles might in fact be the most liberal Eastern team.

This is a fair point. It's just that no one lives in Salem County or Cumberland for that matter - Obama's 2nd strongest South Jersey county. Take it from someone who lives in north Monmouth - we have about an even split for Giants-Eagles. Once you get to Ocean, it is literally all Eagles fans, and they are proud about it. Go even further south and it just gets more and more obnoxious. Those are the conservatives I am referring to rather than the rural counties/year-round unionized residents.